


Moving On

by Lola_t



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:29:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24889936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lola_t/pseuds/Lola_t
Summary: Inspired by Season One of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, this takes place 4 months after the season finale.After Mitch’s death, Zoey can no longer take the bombardment of heart-songs from her grieving family.  As an act of self-care, Zoey packs up and leaves for a much needed break. Will anything be the same when she returns?
Relationships: David Clarke/Emily (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist), Eddie/Mo (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist), Maggie Clarke & Zoey Clarke, Tobin Batra & Leif Donnelly, Zoey Clarke & Joan, Zoey Clarke & Max Richman, Zoey Clarke & Mo, Zoey Clarke & Simon Haynes, Zoey Clarke/Max Richman, Zoey Clarke/Simon Haynes
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> Song: Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper  
> Listen Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQY7BusJNU

It is a chilly morning on the first day of winter. Zoey reluctantly opens her eyes and looks around the house she has called home for the last three months. Swinging her feet out of the bed, her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor which sends a shudder through her body. Zoey slips into her warm Ugg Boots and trots over to the window, letting the morning sun in through the once darkened room. Looking at the view ahead, the sun has risen over the distant ranges and bleeds over the canopy of forest in front of her.

Silence.

That’s all she has heard since living in her family’s secluded holiday cabin. Beautiful silence. After her father died four months ago, Zoey became overwhelmed. Not only in her own grief but also in the deafening sound of her mother’s grief, her brother’s grief, and her sister in-law’s grief. Constantly singing to her how much they were hurting, how alone they felt, and how much they miss Mitch. Hell, even her friends didn’t stop singing to her about how they felt about Zoey’s pain. Three months ago, during another one of her mother’s heart-songs, Zoey realised that her heart couldn’t take it any longer. So, she packed her bags, said her goodbyes…and left. Although her heart aches, her head has stopped pounding from the loudness of the world around her.

Zoey decided on her family’s cabin which is located in Yosemite Valley – 200 miles outside of San Francisco. Twice a year since she was 6 years old, Mitch, Maggie, David and Zoey would pack up the car and take a 4-hour drive to their home away from home for a wonderful get away filled with fishing at Merced River, family cook-offs with the catch of the day, and board games which they kept an ongoing leader board (their last trip, Zoey only just nudged David off the top with a killer game of Scattergories after 7 years of him leading the board). Zoey chose her family cabin as she wanted to be somewhere familiar which had ties to her father, but far enough from people to take a break from hearing people’s inner thoughts.

Making herself a steaming cup of coffee, Zoey grabs her warmest blanket, her phone and heads out to sit on the porch which has a gorgeous view of the river. The water is calm and clear, the exact opposite of Zoey’s thoughts. She picks up her phone and checks the time.

“ _7:13 am_ ” Zoey whispers to herself and grunts.

Looking at the date, she closes her eyes and sighs. It’s like the phone is screaming at her that it’s her last day at the cabin. She promised herself, her family, and her friends that she would be back after Thanksgiving (missing Thanksgiving was a blow to her mother, but she couldn’t bear the thought of melancholy music over turkey). She also promised Joan that she would be back at work for the lead up to Christmas to help with the release of their advent calendar “The SPRQ Days of Xmas” app for the SPRQ Watch. Joan had been so generous giving Zoey the time she needed to process her life after her Dad, but Zoey knew that her generosity would only last so long, and she didn’t want to push it. With Joan’s new position as CEO of SPRQ Point, her stress levels doubled especially since she was down two coders. Although dreading going back to the real world, there was a small part of Zoey that missed the bull pin. Joan’s mentorship, Leif always keeping her on her toes, Tobin's chaotic energy, and Simon’s kindness…his hot, hot kindness. Zoey scrolls through her phone and selected her Instagram app, the first time she has logged on to any socials whilst she has been away. Working her way through her feed, she sees that familiar smile. Max.

Staring at her phone, Zoey studies the image in front of her which was posted two days earlier. Max is sitting on a picnic blanket holding a glass of wine toward the camera, with the caption “ _rose toute la journée_ ”. It’s a beautiful photo, which captures the essence of all things Max. Sun, smile, rose-tinted glasses…he is the embodiment of joy. Zoey pinches the screen, zooming into Max’s face. Focussing on his lips, Zoey can’t help but think back to their kiss. It felt…right. But what a night that turned out to be. Since then, everything’s changed. Zoey has changed. She is not the same woman who kissed Max, and not the same person Max fell for. Besides, not long after Zoey left San Francisco, Max was headhunted by a new start-up in Paris – an offer he couldn’t refuse. He seemed happy in his new position, city, and path in life. Although a small company, Max got to flex a number of his talents including his coding skills, leading a team, and his ability to speak French – a skill which Zoey only recently learned about. Zoey clicks on the speech bubble at the corner of the post and comments on Max’s picture. “ _When in Paris…_ ” along with the wine emoji, the French flag, and praise hands. Re-reading her comment, she decides to remove the emojis and let her words do the talking.

After that fateful night, Max respected Zoey’s need to have space. She knew that at one point she would have to speak with Max about what happened between them but since losing her Dad, she wasn’t ready for another major change in her life. Max happily reciprocated the idea of not rushing things between them and continued to support Zoey where he could. But the heart wants what the heart wants and there are some things Max just couldn’t hide from her due to her superpowers. One evening, Max came over to her apartment with a big batch of vegetable stir-fry and a DVD of Bridesmaids to make Zoey feel better. After dinner, they lounged on the couch to watch the film, and just as Zoey’s favourite scene started, the dress fitting scene, it finally made Zoey smile in what felt like years. But then, a familiar tune started playing which distracted Zoey from the movie. Max slowly rose from the couch and commenced to glide around the room, bursting with song.

_Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you  
Caught up in circles  
Confusion is nothing new  
Flashback, warm nights  
Almost left behind  
Suitcase of memories  
Time after_

_Sometimes you picture me  
I'm walking too far ahead  
You're calling to me, I can't hear  
What you've said  
Then you say, "go slow"  
And I fall behind  
The second hand unwinds_

Max sat down next to Zoey on the couch and grabbed her hand, singing to her intently.

_If you're lost you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting  
Time after time  
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me  
Time after time  
If you fall, I will catch you, I will be waiting  
Time after time._

Zoey sighs at the memory. She couldn’t keep doing that to Max, keeping him on the line until she was ready…if she was ever ready. Zoey still didn’t know how she felt about Max, about Simon, or about herself. She hits send on her comment, and keeps scrolling, catching up on her friends and family’s life during her sabbatical. Images of David and Emily’s son, Teddy, being adorable as ever. He was born two weeks after Mitch’s funeral, which was just what David needed. Like Zoey, he struggled with losing his Dad but now that he is one, he has dived into being the father just like he had. This was David’s way of honouring his father, which no doubt would have made Mitch proud. Zoey scrolls past more pictures of Teddy, with one particular sweet one with Teddy and Maggie, which makes her smile. Continuing through her feed, she sees that Mo is enjoying his time with Eddie on his Broadway cruise ship, Simon growing closer with his mother whilst doing regular trips to Vegas to see her, and Tobin and Leif being…well…Tobin and Leif.

Zoey puts her phone down and takes a long sip of her coffee while feeling the cool breeze on her face. Taking in the sounds from the world around her, she is finally at peace. The vibrating from her phone snaps Zoey out of her trance, bringing her back to reality. Picking up the phone, she sees she has a new notification. It's a reply from Max. “ _Welcome back online! I’ve missed you._ ” A warm glow runs through Zoey’s body at his words but her smile soon fades as she knows that San Francisco will not be the same without him. She replies " _Miss you too. A lot_." Zoey goes to lock her phone but a new photo posted by Paul, Mitch's best friend, catches her eye. The image is of a smiling Paul and Maggie with his arm tightly around her shoulder and his head leaning on hers. Zoey stares at the post in disbelief. 

"What the fu..!"


End file.
